The development of a HDD as a recording and storage medium has evolved rapidly over the last decade. A HDD typically consists of a platter containing a magnetic material for functioning as the main data storage medium and a pair of magneto-resistive heads for “writing” and “reading” data. In known HDDs, the platter is spun at high speeds while information is being written onto the magnetic medium via the modification of its magnetization. Such magnetic modification is usually effected through the magneto-resistive read-and-write heads.
In known HDD configurations, the read-and-write heads of the HDD are held by an actuator arm, which is affixed at a point called the pivot. The actuator arm is then positioned such that the read/write heads hover very closely to the magnetic storage medium, typically within a few nanometers of the magnetic platter. Critical HDD failures can result due to the read and write heads coming into contact with the platter while it is spinning. It is therefore important to protect the HDD from physical impact, which may be sustained during daily usage of the HDD, for instance, by sudden shocks or even by the dropping of laptops.
In conventional HDDs, the sensitive components of the HDD (e.g. the magnetic platter) are usually housed within a HDD casing (which includes a top cover and a base), wherein the casing is typically made of a metal or metallic material to, amongst other uses, impart resistance against physical impact.
However, this may lead to high manufacturing costs due to the volatile prices of the essential raw materials (e.g. aluminum). Also, aluminium, while not the highest density material, still forms a significant fraction of the total weight of the finished HDD. The increased weight of the HDDs can lead to inflated logistics costs, particularly when there is a need to transport the HDDs over long distances and involve either air or sea transport.
Furthermore, due to weight considerations, conventional HDD designs have resorted to using as little metal material as possible for producing the HDD base. Whilst this arguably addresses the weight problem, it also generates a further problem, particularly that of strength or a lack thereof. As lesser metal is used to produce the HDD base, the ability of the HDD to withstand physical trauma also reduces significantly. This can result in a HDD that is easily compromised from otherwise innocuous knocks due to its weaker structural integrity.
More particularly, conventional HDDs, despite being housed in a hard metallic casing, are nevertheless still prone to damage upon experiencing high mechanical impacts. For example, when a HDD is dropped from a distance above ground level, the suffered impact may still cause damage to the HDD, notwithstanding the presence of the metal casing. Some HDDs also have a mechanism that senses shock and rapidly moves the actuator arm into a non-critical area of the disk or into the ramp pad. However, such a mechanism may still be inadequate to prevent damage to the HDD. This may be due to a variety of reasons. For instance, the suffered impact may cause the actuator arm to be dislodged from the ramp pad or from the non-critical area. This may then result in the actuator arm coming into contact with the surface of the magnetic platter, possibly causing disk corruption and loss of data as the read write heads brush abrasively against the magnetic platter. In other words, when a HDD is too weak or floppy, there is a higher risk that the actuator arm may damage the disk when the HDD suffers an impact. Conversely, if the structure of the casing is too rigid, the vibration or shock may be transmitted directly to the HDD components, which is equally undesirable.
In addition, during production of conventional HDD bases, there is a need for meticulous post-machining due to the need to refine the miniature parts that require a more precise outline.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a HDD base that overcomes, or at least ameliorates, the disadvantages mentioned above. In particular, there is a need to provide a HDD base that is lightweight but at the same time retains or improves mechanical strength. There is also a need to provide a HDD base that is optimized to resist shock and impact whilst being economical to produce and requires minimal or no post-machining at all.